AMBER Alert: San Marcos police share how they tracked down suspect
SAN MARCOS, Texas - San Marcos police shared how they tracked down an AMBER Alert suspect out of a different county.
On Jan. 30, an AMBER Alert went out for a 14-year-old girl from Kingsbury in Gonzales County.
Police say she was reported missing by her grandmother, who caught the girl messaging 22-year-old Barry Van Mersbergen.
Over in Hays County, San Marcos police got busy. They immediately recognized Van Mersbergen. He was previously charged with evading arrest.
"Basically, it's all hands on deck. When that came through, even though it was from a different county, since we knew that Barry frequents this area, our patrol officers immediately started checking that area," Sgt. Duwayne Poorboy with San Marcos police said.
Officers decided to look for him east of I-35 near Hwy 80.
An anonymous caller told police he was at an apartment complex on Linda Drive, but officers couldn't find him there.
Data helped them find the stolen car that the two were believed to be in at a different apartment complex.
Officers thought they spotted the two but couldn't confirm them in the dark.
"The area that he was in, there are several apartment complexes that are right next to one another, so he abandoned [the car] at one. We found him over at another one," Poorboy said.
Police got two tips that confirmed which unit he was in.
"Those tips really kind of solidified what we knew. It allowed us to take those next steps that really led to the recovery of our victim," Poorboy said.
It was a team effort from both law enforcement and the public.
"It didn't even require me to come in as a supervisor and be like, 'hey, you guys need to be on high alert for these things.' It was just something that people automatically took the initiative and then started sharing information," Poorboy said.
MORE STORIES:
- Missing in Texas: A look at unsolved murders in Guadalupe County
- Family renews call for justice a year and a half after deadly Manor hit-and-run
- Man found dead face down in Williamson County field 37 years ago
Police got a search warrant to go into the unit.
Court paperwork says the girl was found "hiding under a pile of clothes in the back bedroom."
Van Mersbergen was "hiding under a pile of dirty clothes inside a cabinet in the back bathroom."
He refused to come out of the cabinet, kicking officers and yelling things like, "I'd love to fight y'all" and "y'all are gonna have fun getting me into booking."
"We actually had to put him in a specialized, restraint system called the WRAP. Basically, put your legs together. You're handcuffed behind the back," Poorboy said.
Van Mersbergen was taken to the Hays County Jail and is charged with harboring a runaway child, resisting arrest, and obstruction.
This case is also a reminder to be careful online.
"Really monitor what, what and who, what your kids are doing online and who they're talking to, because unfortunately, there are a lot of predators out there that are willing to take advantage of children," Poorboy said.
You never know when paying attention to an Amber Alert can pay off.
"Any time something happens with a child, everybody takes that seriously," Poorboy said.